Productive differences betweeen black swines and wild boars

A phenomenon that has involved the pig industry of our country is the recovery of autochthonous species as part of our cultural heritage, essential for the conservation, the landscape protection and the productive recovery of various areas. These autochthonous species are exploited for the production of local sausages as well as for fresh meat consumption. This fact has stimulated the meat market and discovered new horizons in the meat industry by giving more value at wild ungulates such as wild boar because it adapts to indoor rearing systems and its meat is required by restaurants, by industries of meat transformation, as it represents a viable alternative “traditional meat” to be consumed fresh. This research aims to compare the quantitative and qualitative aspects of carcasses and meat of wild boars and black swine from Basilicata, reared in captivity. 12 male animals were used, including 6 wild boars and 6 black pigs from Basilicata, slaughtered at 270 days of age. Every carcass was divided into two halves and the right part was divided into major cuts which, therefore, were subdivide in lean, fat and bone. On every Longissimus dorsi” of all the subjects were evaluated the pH1, the pH24, the colorimetric indexes, the shear force and the cooking loss. Raw and cooked samples were analyzed for their chemical composition and on the extracted fat was determined the acidic composition by the use of gas- chromatography. All data obtained were subjected to analysis of variance and differences between the estimated averages were assessed with the “t” of Student. The black pigs of Basilicata, compared to wild boars, showed higher and significant increases in daily and final live weights. They have provided heavier and longer half- carcasses with a higher drop of refrigeration and a better yield of slaughtering. In wild boar, it was found a lower incidence of cuts like this of ham, loin, shoulder and chest. Pigs have a ham with a higher percentage of fat, while the loin of wild boars is fatter and richer in lean and fat. Pigs‟ Longissimus dorsi is more yellow and has a lower shear force both in raw and cooked meat. It was not found any significant difference in raw chemical composition which seems not to be influenced by the genotype. As far as regards the chemical composition of the cooked samples, this of pigs is more watery, less protein and less fatty. The total content of saturated, monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, unsaturated fatty acids, ω6 and the thrombogenicity index seem to be indifferent by animal genotype. However, the fat of pigs, in relation to that of wild boar, shows higher percentages of ω3 and a higher atherogenicity index, while the ω6/ω3 ratio is higher in wild boars. Same trend but without statistical significance is found, also, in cooked fat.